When people in Japan hear "household exempt from residence tax," most think of benefit-payment news — but the support you can actually use goes far beyond cash handouts. From the low-income brackets of the high-cost medical expense benefit, hospital meal charges, long-term care insurance premiums, National Health Insurance premiums, childcare fees, all the way to free university tuition, reductions reserved for tax-exempt households are built into many corners of daily life. At the same time, news reports mix up "programs that have already ended" with "programs running now," which causes constant confusion. This article organizes only the programs in effect as of August 2026, clearly separated from those that have ended. For the criteria that decide whether your household qualifies, see Conditions for a household exempt from residence tax 2026, which explains the tests in detail.
First, check: the criteria for a tax-exempt household (FY2026)
A household exempt from residence tax is one in which every member of the household on the resident register owes no residence tax at all (neither the per-capita levy nor the income-based levy). If even one family member pays residence tax, the household does not qualify. From FY2026 (Reiwa 8), the raised employment income deduction (from 550,000 yen to 650,000 yen) is reflected in residence tax, so the salary income guideline went up by 100,000 yen.
| Household composition | Salary income guideline | Pension income guideline (age 65+) |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 1.10 million yen or less | 1.55 million yen or less |
| Couple (spouse as dependent) | About 1.66 million yen or less | About 2.11 million yen or less |
| Couple + 1 child | About 2.06 million yen or less | — |
| Couple + 2 children | About 2.56 million yen or less | — |
- The table above shows the guideline for grade-1 areas (Tokyo's 23 wards, major cities and the like). In grade-2 and grade-3 areas the thresholds are lower (for a single person's salary income, about 1.065 million yen in grade-2 areas and about 1.03 million yen in grade-3 areas).
- If you are under 65 and live on pension income only, the public pension deduction is smaller, so the guideline for a single person is about 1.05 million yen or less.
- Persons with disabilities, minors, widows and single parents have a separate rule: with total net income of 1.35 million yen or less in the previous year (salary income of about 2.04 million yen or less), the person is exempt from residence tax.
For how the calculation works, the details of area grades, and the difference from "exempt from the income-based levy only," see Conditions for a household exempt from residence tax 2026; for how residence tax itself is calculated, see How residence tax works and how it is calculated.
National benefit payments: "running now" vs "past examples" as of August 2026
Starting with the most important point: as of August 2026, there is no nationwide cash benefit for residence-tax-exempt households being paid uniformly by the national government. The comprehensive economic package approved by the Cabinet in November 2025 did not adopt a uniform national cash handout; instead, the priority-support local grant was expanded to 2.0 trillion yen, with each municipality designing the actual support.
Support currently in motion (as of August 2026)
- Municipal cost-of-living measures: Using the priority-support local grant, some municipalities run their own benefits for tax-exempt households (examples in the 10,000-30,000 yen range), waive or reduce water charges, distribute rice coupons or gift certificates, and subsidize LP gas and kerosene costs. Whether a program exists, its amount and its deadline all differ by municipality, so search for "your city or ward name + benefit payment" and check the official website.
- Cost-of-living child-raising support allowance: 20,000 yen per child from age 0 through the third year of high school. This one is not limited to tax-exempt households — it covers child-raising households in general — and the timing and method of payment differ by municipality.
- Relief on electricity and gas bills, and the gasoline tax cut to the level of the abolished provisional rate: implemented as nationwide support regardless of household type.
Every past benefit payment for tax-exempt households has closed its application window. Be careful not to confuse old information such as "you can get 100,000 yen" with today's programs.
| Past examples (all ended) | Contents |
|---|---|
| FY2023 (Reiwa 5) | 30,000 yen (spring) + 70,000 yen (winter) to tax-exempt households |
| FY2024 (Reiwa 6) | 100,000 yen to newly exempt households etc. + 50,000 yen per child (paired with the fixed-amount tax cut) |
| FY2024 supplementary (late 2024 to spring 2025) | 30,000 yen to tax-exempt households + 20,000 yen per child |
As for the future shape of support for low-income households, ruling and opposition parties have been negotiating a "refundable tax credit" that combines cash benefits with tax cuts, and an interim summary was presented in July 2026 (with introduction targeted for FY2029). We explain the design in Refundable tax credit simulation.
If you have not filed, you will fall through the cracks. Even people with no or little income are not judged "exempt" — and do not appear on the rosters for push-type benefits — unless they have filed a residence tax return (or are declared as a family member's dependent). Even with zero income, file a residence tax return at your municipal office.
Lighter medical bills: the high-cost medical expense benefit and hospital meals
The "low-income brackets" of the high-cost medical expense benefit (from treatment in August 2026)
Monthly out-of-pocket medical costs are capped, and tax-exempt households get their own lower caps. The caps as a whole were raised for treatment from August 2026, but the increase for the exempt brackets was kept small — so the gap in burden has actually widened.
| Bracket | Monthly cap | Reference: standard brackets |
|---|---|---|
| Under 70, residence-tax-exempt (Bracket O) | 36,900 yen (24,600 yen once the multiple-use rule applies) | Annual income of about 3.7 million yen or less (Bracket E) pays 61,500 yen |
| 70 or over, Low Income II (all household members exempt) | Outpatient 11,000 yen / household 25,700 yen | Taxed households fall into income-based brackets (with higher caps than the low-income brackets) |
| 70 or over, Low Income I (exempt + pension of 800,000 yen or less, etc.) | Outpatient 8,000 yen / household 15,700 yen |
- From August 2026 annual caps were also newly introduced (Low Income II: 290,000 yen a year; Low Income I: 180,000 yen a year). This puts a brake on the burden of paying the monthly cap month after month during long-term treatment.
- To have your payment at the counter limited to the cap from the start, you need either to use your Myna insurance card (My Number health insurance card) and consent to information sharing, or a ceiling-amount eligibility certificate. August is also the month when brackets are re-assessed each year. See The ceiling-amount eligibility certificate and the Myna insurance card for details.
- For the full picture — household aggregation and the multiple-use rule — see Guide to the high-cost medical expense benefit.
Hospital meal charges (revised from June 2026)
Meal charges during hospitalization are outside the high-cost medical expense benefit, but tax-exempt households get a reduction. The amounts were revised on June 1, 2026.
| Category | Per meal |
|---|---|
| Standard | 550 yen |
| Residence-tax-exempt household (up to 90 days in hospital in the past 12 months) | 270 yen |
| Residence-tax-exempt household (from day 91 of hospitalization; application required) | 220 yen |
| 70 or over, Low Income I (pension income of 806,700 yen or less, etc.) | 130 yen |
At three meals a day for a 30-day stay, the difference from the standard 550 yen comes to around 25,000 yen a month. To receive the reduction you need the exempt bracket applied (ceiling-amount data sharing via the Myna insurance card, or the certificate) — and note that only the deeper reduction for long stays from day 91 requires a separate application.
Lighter long-term care costs: premiums, service fees, facility meals and lodging
Long-term care insurance premiums for 65+ cut by up to about 70%
Long-term care insurance premiums for people 65 and over are set by income tier. If every household member is exempt from residence tax, you fall into tiers 1 to 3, with an extra publicly funded reduction on top (under the national standard for the 9th period, FY2024-2026).
| Tier | Who qualifies (all household members exempt) | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Own pension income etc. of 800,000 yen or less (including public assistance recipients) | Base amount x 0.285 |
| Tier 2 | Own pension income etc. over 800,000 yen up to 1.2 million yen | Base amount x 0.485 |
| Tier 3 | Own pension income etc. over 1.2 million yen | Base amount x 0.685 |
The base amount differs by municipality (the national average is 6,225 yen a month). Tier 1 means nearly 70% off the base amount. Some municipalities set their own multipliers and tier definitions, so check the notice from your city or ward for the exact figure.
Dedicated caps on out-of-pocket care service costs too
- High-cost long-term care service benefit: The monthly cap on out-of-pocket care service costs drops to 24,600 yen for tax-exempt households (15,000 yen individually for those with pension income of 800,000 yen or less, etc.). The gap from the standard 44,400 yen is large, and there is also an annual combined cap with medical costs. See Guide to the high-cost long-term care service benefit.
- Benefit for facility residents' living costs (supplementary benefit): At special nursing homes and similar facilities, meal and lodging charges are reduced upon application for tax-exempt households (subject to an asset test on savings and the like). This program can dramatically change the cost of facility care.
Premiums, education and other reductions at a glance
| Program | Contents and cautions |
|---|---|
| National Health Insurance premium reduction | Depending on the previous year's income, the per-capita and per-household portions are reduced by 70%, 50% or 20%. The FY2026 guideline: 70% reduction at income of 430,000 yen or less, etc. (the 50% and 20% bands widen with the number of members). It applies automatically with no application, but you get no reduction if you have not filed — so file even with zero income. For the mechanics, see How National Health Insurance is calculated |
| National Pension premium exemption | There are income tests for full and partial exemption, and tax-exempt households often qualify for full exemption. If you apply for exemption instead of simply not paying, half of that period still counts toward your pension amount, and your eligibility for disability pension is protected. See National Pension exemption and deferment |
| Childcare fees for ages 0-2 | Ages 3-5 are free for all households, but ages 0-2 are free only for tax-exempt households (Children and Families Agency: free early childhood education and care) |
| Free university and vocational school | Under the higher education support program, tax-exempt households are in Category I: tuition reduction (up to about 700,000 yen a year at private universities, about 540,000 yen at national/public ones) plus the full grant-type scholarship (about 910,000 yen a year for private university away from home). From FY2025, households with three or more dependent children also get tuition-free status with no income test (MEXT) |
| NHK reception fee waiver | Being a "tax-exempt household" alone does not qualify you. Full waiver applies in cases such as "a household with a disability certificate holder where every member is exempt from residence tax." There is also a waiver for students from tax-exempt and similar households living away from their parents |
| Municipality-specific reductions | Waivers or reductions of water and sewer charges, free health checkups and vaccinations, reduced bulky-waste fees, school expense assistance (school supplies and lunches for elementary and junior high pupils) and more. Many municipalities use "residence-tax-exempt household" as the eligibility test, so it is worth checking the "reductions and waivers" list on your city or ward website once |
The borderline problem: is cutting your income to qualify the right move?
As we have seen, crossing the exemption line flips a whole set of benefits and reductions at once, creating a cliff where 1.10 million yen and 1.11 million yen of annual income are worlds apart. It is natural for someone just above the line to wonder, "Wouldn't I come out ahead by working less and becoming exempt?" — but this site does not recommend deliberately suppressing your income. Here is why.
- Benefit payments are single-year and uncertain: Benefits for tax-exempt households do not come every year — as of August 2026 there is no uniform national handout at all. Giving up certain income for uncertain benefits does not pay.
- Many protections do not require exemption: The high-cost medical expense benefit caps costs for taxed households too, and the 50% and 20% NHI premium reductions reach incomes above the exemption line. The cliff is not "all or nothing."
- The test is household-based: If even one household member is taxed, the household is not exempt. Adjusting only your own income often fails to achieve the goal.
- Working less also hits your future pension and career: The long-term loss — employees' pension coverage periods and missed raises — tends to outweigh a single year's benefit.
A common misunderstanding: income deductions cannot make you exempt. The exemption test uses "total net income" before subtracting income deductions such as iDeCo or the medical expense deduction. Even if more deductions bring your income tax to zero, they have no effect on the exempt-household test (tax saving and the exemption test are separate things).
What someone at the border should do is not adjust income, but two things: (1) file so that you are reliably judged exempt in a year you qualify, and (2) leave nothing on the table among the reductions available even without exemption (the multi-band NHI reduction, the high-cost medical expense benefit, partial pension exemption and so on). The refundable tax credit discussed above is, incidentally, being debated precisely to dissolve this cliff.
What to do today
What to do today
- Using the residence tax notice that arrived in June (or a tax-exemption certificate), check the tax status of every household member. If a family member has no income, make sure their residence tax return has not been missed
- Search for "your city or ward name + benefit payment" and check whether a municipal benefit or water-charge waiver funded by the priority-support local grant is running, along with the deadline
- If a family member expects hospitalization or long-term care, check the ceiling-amount data sharing on the Myna insurance card (or the ceiling-amount eligibility certificate) and the status of the care cost-cap certification application
FAQ
Q. As of August 2026, is there a national benefit payment for residence-tax-exempt households?
A. No — there is no nationwide cash benefit for tax-exempt households being paid uniformly by the national government. Funded by the priority-support local grant, individual municipalities may be running their own benefits or water-charge waivers. Existence, amounts and deadlines differ by municipality, so check your city or ward's official website. The past 30,000 yen and 100,000 yen benefits have all closed.
Q. How much lighter do medical bills get for a tax-exempt household?
A. The monthly cap under the high-cost medical expense benefit becomes 36,900 yen for those under 70 (versus 61,500 yen in the common bracket for annual income of 3.7 million yen or less), and from August 2026 annual caps were added as well (290,000 yen for Low Income II). Hospital meal charges also drop from 550 yen to 270 yen per meal. For a long hospital stay the difference reaches tens of thousands of yen per month.
Q. I am just above the exemption line — should I work fewer hours?
A. We do not recommend it. Benefits do not come every year, the test is household-based so adjusting one person's income often does not make the household exempt, and working less means long-term losses in pension amounts and career. Since the high-cost medical expense benefit and the 50%/20% NHI premium reductions are available even without exemption, the first step is to stop missing the programs you can already use.
Q. Are the reductions automatic, or do I need to apply?
A. It depends on the program. The NHI premium reduction is automatic once you have filed, but applications are required for National Pension exemption, the meal-charge reduction from day 91 of hospitalization, the reduction of facility meal and lodging charges (cost-cap certification), the NHK fee waiver, and university tuition support. The common prerequisite: without a residence tax return you are not judged exempt and can fall through every one of these programs.
References (sources)
* This article is general information based on materials as of August 2026. Exemption thresholds (area grades), municipality-specific benefits and reductions, and the requirements of each program differ by municipality and insurer. For individual decisions, always confirm with your municipality, the relevant institutions, or a professional.